Marvelous McDavid

Every wedding should be about the Bride and Groom.  After all, they are the stars of the show!!  As guests experience and participate in the wedding our goal is always to point to our wedding couple and show who they are as individuals and where they are going with their life together.  It's all about their personality as a couple!!  This has never been more true than in our planning walk with the fabulous N and M!!  While some couples need help finding ways to show who they are, the beautiful N was the exact opposite!  From the start she was full of ideas on how to communicate their fun personalities through the details of the wedding!!  How rewarding to see her vision and ideas come to fruition!!  We were so blessed to team with these sweet friends on design plan, coordination, and implementation of this glorious event! 

AT THE CHURCH

The big day started with a beautiful church wedding.  The alter table was decorated with a wooden cross carved by the Father of the Bride as a wedding gift.  Such a meaningful keepsake!  The Groom's cousin used their family Bible as he officiated the ceremony.  The Alter deco was topped off with a long flower garland nestled between candles on a gathered black linen.  Beauty.   

COCKTAIL HOUR

The reception was held at the marvelous McDavid Studio in Downtown Ft. Worth.  Guests were invited to head to McDavid for a fun cocktail hour while the wedding party finished their pics at the church.  The cocktail hour was held in the fun and eclectic canteen.  Upon arrival guests were treated to N and M's signature drinks... N chose a Ciroc Vodka with white grape juice and a sugar rim, M chose a Ciroc Vodka Martini with blue cheese olives.  The drinks were displayed and served a bed of gorgeous green apples covered with glass.  For entertainment during cocktail hour, a couple of N's talented friends helped create a fabulous piano bar atmosphere by performing live and inviting the crowd to join in.  The guests loved it and it set the tone for a fun evening!!  So great!!

Bride and Groom's signature drink display

While picking up a drink at the bar, the guests were able to find their seating cards... once again displayed the color of the wedding with these beautiful green apples (you know how we love fruit!!)

The decor for the cocktail hour was challenging... we wanted to display memorable pictures of the bride and groom, but this area is already decorated with modern art and exposed pipes on the ceiling (love this industrial look!).  Our solution was to take advantage of the large windows opening to an atrium below.  We used tall hooks to hang the beautiful pictures of our Bride and Groom on all of their adventures! 

Hanging pictures in the windows of the Canteen

Stand up cocktails and seating area as a view for the piano bar show! 

THE RECEPTION

After cocktail hour guests were welcomed into the main reception room.  The door was graced with a gorgeous curly willow arch with flowers nestled in.  What a great entrance!! 

Inside view of the arch



Outside view of the arch

This fabulous reception was a seated dinner for all of the guests.  Dinner was catered by the famous Reata in Fort Worth...  N and M's favorite.  One of the best things about this wedding was getting the opportunity to introduce so many out of town guests to the sights, sounds, and tastes of Fort Worth.   Reata is definitely one of the must taste restaurants for any Fort Worth visitor... what a pleasure to work with them on this fabulous event!  Our layout was an eclectic design mixing long rectangular tables and large rounds.  The wedding party was seated at the long tables surrounding the dance floor. 

The round tables had a great mix of centerpiece heights.  All using the soft green and white hydrangeas as a theme.

Tall with hanging candles and wrought iron vase

 Low wrought iron bowls with the same hydrangea arrangement of flowers.

 Last of the three, large lanterns elevated on glass with hydrangea tucked underneath.  The Bride had a special surprise at her mother in law's table.. a picture of the Groom's late father on his wedding day!!  This meant so much to the M's mom and is another great example of the personality showing through in all the details!! 

DESIGN DETAILS

Large pictures of N and M graced the walls of the reception area.  This was a design idea of the bride and it turned out so beautifully.  Another personalized note, the table runners and curtain ties were handmade by the Mother of the Bride!!

Each place setting was dressed with fabulous stationary detailing the food and events of the night.  We love this idea!!  So often at weddings the guests are just blindly following a schedule that they have no clue about.  We have found that most wedding goers appreciate knowing whats coming and what time it will happen... the menu card is a great way to communicate the plan! 

Another FABULOUS detail....  N loves original quotes.  She loves them so much that she and M asked their guests to write a favorite quote on their response cards!!  To carry this personalized detail into the reception, we arranged to have a projector display N's favorite quotes on the wall throughout the reception!! 

N and M decided on a live band for the reception entertainment.  We were so blessed to book one of the truly great bands in the metroplex, Trey and the Tritones.  They rocked the reception!!  What a fabulous choice!! 

THE CAKES

The cakes were the centerpiece of the main reception room.  This is evident because they have ended up in so many of the pictures!  They were both fabulous to look at and delicious.  N's cake was tall the the favorite hydrangea on top.  The bling and detailing on the sides of the cake are truly representative of who N is... fabulous and sparkly!  She knew what she wanted, was specific with the baker and it turned out so wonderfully!! 

 Toward the end of the night, the Bride and Groom selected some true classics for the guests to enjoy as a late night snack.  We paired delicious blue cheese sliders from Reata with every one's favorite, McDonald's fries!!  They were a hit...  and so delicious after several hours of dancing!  

The Bride and Groom were led to their car by the band!!  So great!! 

Congratulations to my sweet friends!  What fun to work with you and see everything come together!!! 

A HUGE thanks to Kassie Moore Photography for so many of the pictures in this event story!!!  If you are looking for a wonderful photographer, look no further!!  You can visit Kassie's website by clicking HERE.

Limey Luncheon

It must be admitted that when we are left to our own devices to plan an event we revert back to some of our old favorites.  This is especially true when there is no "real" florist involved. When we are the florist you can always expect the old standards to appear... roses, hydrangeas, and fruit.  Nevertheless, we are more than giddy when such an event arrives.  We hold this yearly luncheon in appreciation of some volunteers we have the privilege of working with. The theme each year is the same: limes.  It's always a fun challenge to come up with new colors to pair with the lime green.  This year we chose simple classic black and white linens.  To add some depth to the lime green we also used the fresh light green granny smith apples.   

The beautiful buffet...

Our thirty guests were greeted with these tables...

Each black tablecloth was tied underneath with a long damask runner.  Square vases held white hydrangea and were elevated on a twelve inch piece of glass over limes. Apple green napkins were folded neatly at each place setting.

Yes, it was a "luncheon" which does carry connotations of  "ladies lunching" and it's true that the majority of our guests were women.  However, an important part of our guest list consisted of some wonderful men who serve all year in ways that are not always fun.  We wanted to show them our apprecitation!  So.... our main menu items were the most manly things you could of: steak and potatoes!  And for the record they were also enjoyed by the women!!!  Of course we knew we needed to serve something green as well.  We chose Spinach and Strawberry salad.  These stemless martini glasses are such a great way to serve salad... and they're beautiful as well!! 

And for dessert... delicious cake balls!!

For this guest count (a relatively small event with just 30 guests), we greatly prefer small tables of four instead of a few larger tables.  It allows people to get to know each other in a more intimate setting.... and it also looks cuter! 

This one was so much fun!!  Looking forward to the lime challenge in 2012!!